Skye Penderwick
Skye Magee Penderwick '''is the second oldest of the Penderwick children, being eighteen by the epilogue of the fourth book. Daughter of Martin and Elizibeth Penderwick, she is stubborn and feisty and the most academic of her sisters. Her interests include advanced math, astrophysics and soccer. Skye's most daring life of thy heart and catrabbit '''Early life of Skye Skye Penderwick was born one year after her older sister, Rosalind. Some of her earliest memories include baking chocolate chip cookies with her mother and sister, Jane, and putting batter in her hair. When she was three, she refused to eat asparagus that her mother gave her, screaming until her face grew purple. "Out of desperation," Aunt Claire said, Elizabeth stuck the asparagus up her own nose, which caused Skye to quiet down. She has loved asparagus ever since. At age five, Nick Geiger built a skateboard ramp and Skye rode Tommy's skateboard over it. When Skye was seven, she went with her sisters to visit her mother in the hospital, and shortly after, her mother dies of cancer. When in second grade, which is presumed to be the same year, Skye learned long division and her teacher accused her of cheating. When she was ten, she vacationed at Cape Cod, rode her raft past the waves, and had to be rescued by the lifeguard. That following spring, she recalls Jane dangling her from her ankles over the Quigley Woods bridge so that she can retrieve a soccer ball stuck on the rocks below. Batty has a memory in which Skye accidentally drops Batty into the sea at Cape Cod, and Batty says that she "almost drowned," although the exact time of this is unknown. 'The Penderwicks' When she is 11 years old, Skye travels with her family on a three week vacation to Arundel Hall during the summer before 6th grade. She meets Jeffrey Tifton by crashing into him in a tunnel through a hedge, and from there her three week vacation is a whirlwind of exciting mishaps and adventures. While she is there, she stays in a "perfect" white bedroom, and teaches herself Algebra. She has some awkward and tumultous run-ins with Mrs. Tifton, but by the end she is fast friends with her son, Jeffrey. 'The Penderwicks on Gardam Street' Skye begins 6th grade at Wildwood Elementary by switching homework assignments with Jane, a seemingly innocent rule infraction at the time, which turns out to be disastrous for everyone involved. While Skye's science report for Jane gets a good grade and is filed away without further thought, Jane's play is chosen to be preformed by the 6th grade with Skye cast as the leading role. As it turns out, Skye's stage fright makes it unable for her to preform and Jane takes her place at the last minute. Skye's rivalry with Melissa (the team captain of opposing soccer team Cameron Hardware) also plays throughout the book, and ends with Skye comforting Melissa after beating her in a final soccer game. This however, does not change her hatred toward Melissa. Skye befriends her neighbor, an astrophysicist, Iantha, and comes up with the Save Daddy Plan. In the very end of the book, she is a bridesmaid at her father's and Iantha's wedding. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette ''' In the summer before 7th grade, Skye drives with Jane and Batty to a cottage at Point Mouette in Maine with her Aunt Claire, when she is 12, and Jeffrey arrives soon after. Aunt Claire breaks her ankle and Skye's responsibilities as OAP grow almost out of her control. She loses it a few times under all the pressure but pulls herself together to help Jeffrey cope with discovering who his biological father is. Jeffrey also hints at a crush on Skye, asking her if she ever wondered if they would end up married. At the end of their vacation, Skye gets a haircut along with Jane, Batty, and their new friend, Mercedes, for moral support, and arrives back at Gardam Street to reunite with Rosalind, Mr. Penderwick, Iantha and Ben. '''The Penderwicks in Spring When Skye is first seen in the fourth book, she is tapping away on her computer and messing up her hair. She is locked in a battle with Jeffrey Tifton over the status of their relationship. He is in love with her, constantly trying to talk to her in desperation, but it is unrequited (unfortunately for Jeffrey). He breaks many promises, one to Batty and another to Skye whom requested he not bring up romance. She bans him from visiting the Penderwicks' home several times. Jeffery is also known to have brought up that topic at their high school graduation, which Batty mentions but does not tell: It is too painful for her as she adores both of them. However, Skye does grow in her relationship with Batty, and they come to get a clearer understanding of each other in the end after a few mishaps occur. The Penderwicks At Last In The Penderwicks At Last, popular ship 'Skeffrey' is debunked, as later in the book Skye marries a Czech student named Dusek, a Czech marine biologist, and is eventually persuaded to turn the Arundel wedding into a double one, she is marrying at the same time as Rosalind and Tommy. Appearance Skye has blonde hair and blue eyes, like her mother. While she is said to look like her, Skye doesn't consider herself a match for her mom’s beauty. Skye's hair is straight and medium length until her holiday at Point Mouette, when she, Jane, and Batty get haircuts. Then, it is described to be cropped and mature. She is frequently described by other people as being very pretty, but she resents this, saying there are much better things to be. She tends to wear casual clothes, favoring jeans and black t-shirts. She says "Blue Skye, Blue Eyes" to help others remember her name. Personality Skye is, to most appearances, a tough, outgoing girl, not afraid to speak her mind. She has a sharp tongue and is inclined to be sarcastic, this often coming across in the form of humor. She eschews "girly" behaviors like dressing up and wearing makeup, and is not interested in dating. She is pragmatic and realistic, and often becomes frustrated by Jane's idealism. She also feels detached from Batty because she is young and sees the world in a way Skye finds it hard to relate to, and, until partway through the fourth book, Skye blames Batty for her mother's death. When Batty overhears, Skye explains and apologizes to Batty during a meaningful walk in Quigley Woods. Tempered and energetic, Skye is vastly different from her sisters. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and family. Being the most outrageous and tomboyish of the group, Skye is often at odds with her sisters for their more "feminine" likes. Skye plays soccer and enjoys playing the sport with her sister Jane and her friend Jeffery which the Penderwicks meet in the first book. She is most awkward with Batty, for Skye is not much with babies and kids. Skye has a tough exterior, but when she is under a great deal of stress at Point Mouette, this erodes and her other, softer, side is revealed. Slowly she starts to realize that her tough outer demeanor does not always reflect how she truly feels. She is very neat and orderly to the extent of perfectionism. She detests disorder and frequently clashes with her messy sister, Jane, with whom she shares a bedroom. Skye, when she becomes serious about doing something, is deeply committed, hard working and determined to do things right. This connects with her desire for order, evidenced by the extensive lists she created on how to take care of Batty when Rosalind left the sisters for a week. This determination most often manifests itself as stubbornness, a trait she inherited from her mother, along with her hair and eyes. She is shown to never back down from a challenge and is willing to take physical and occasionally emotional risks. Skye is notorious for a short, violent temper which she is deeply ashamed of and labors painfully over controlling. As she matures this trait mellows a little, and at first Skye had a tendency to be argumentative and easily provoked and prone to get sulky and lash out when things didn't go very well. She mainly likes sticking to a basic plan and isn’t very extroverted, but she always seems to be protective, and a little sensitive, too. She is often hostile towards new people, and isn't that great at making small talk because of her antisocial tendencies and a lack of care for restraining her tongue for the sake of making a good impression. This makes her come across as blunt, impetuous, and disagreeable. This was originally because she was uninterested in others opinions and was essentially self-concerned, something she grows out of and starts to finally see outside of her own interests, beginning to worry more about her own sisters' well being. She hates to see her sisters upset or hurt, and she has a strong sense of honor and family loyalty. Skye is very intellectual and loves to learn. However, she is almost exclusively interested in math and science, and is hopeless at creative writing. It is also shown that Skye is interested in becoming an astrophysicist, and in the third book she brings a book by Neil deGrasse Tyson, a famous astrophysicist, with her to Point Mouette. Skye seems to idolize leaders and strategists, and looks to them for life advice. In the third book, she calls upon Caesar and Napoleon for guidance. She is a tomboyish girl, but doesn’t care for that stuff mainly. She wanted to be a mathematician or an astrophysicist but decided astrophysics was better after meeting Iantha, her future stepmother. Relationships Family Rosalind Penderwick - Skye and Rosalind are like chalk and cheese. They have very different interests, personalities and viewpoints, and Rosalind often tells Skye off. Skye is rowdier than Rosalind and they often clash over rule-breaking. However, Rosalind cares for her and has often been known to help her sister out when she's in trouble. Skye often seeks Rosalind's advice on matters such as temper and feelings, but isn’t great at figuring out feelings of Rosalind when she has any. Jane Penderwick - Skye and Jane have a tempestuous relationship, they frequently argue because of their numerous considerable differences. Despite this, they get along fairly well the rest of the time, and are closest out of the sisters. This is most likely because they share a room. They have been known to switch homework assignments on occasion and help each other out when it is not their area of expertise. Skye is frequently irritated by Jane's disorderly nature and excessively dreamy attitude. They play on the same soccer team, and Skye brags about Jane sometimes, making Jane feel proud. Batty Penderwick - Skye is not fond of taking care of her sister, and they have more differences than similarities. She is rather awkward around Batty, but displays a very protective side, defending her sister against people's assumptions that she is mute or strange. She is tasked with caring for Batty during their holiday at Point Mouette, and she gets very anxious about her. In the forth book, they began to understand each other better, but they still aren't very close. Martin Penderwick - Skye loves her father, but missed her mother even more when he talks about her mother’s similarities to Skye other than the hair. He thinks of her as the smart, academic, tough one, but isn’t wowed when she gets into trouble. That indicates that he is used to her saracsm. Iantha Penderwick - Iantha and Skye share a love of astrophysicists, and discussed the stars, the Big Bang Theory, and more. She later becomes stepmother to the Penderwick sisters. Ben Penderwick - In the 4th book, Ben enjoys Skye’s company and he even tells her he loves his stepsister in code that Nick taught him. Skye explains things to Ben, but without sarcasm, and in the 2nd book, he called her pretty twice, the 2nd word he ever said, causing Iantha to call Skye a good influence. Lydia Penderwick - Skye tells Lydia she will never suck her into princesses, but she could tell her about stars that were very, very old. She also nicknamed Lydia’s doll ‘Baby Zingo’, but Lydia thought it a great name. She is usually quite exasperated with Lydia’s princess phases but has a fondness for her nether the less. Claire Penderwick - Claire Penderwick is aunt to Skye and her siblings. She later marries Jeffrey's father's friend, "Turron". Jeffrey Tifton - Jeffrey and Skye's relationship did not start in a positive manner. They first met when Skye collided with him while exploring the gardens in Arundel, and unintentionally insulted his mother without realizing who he was. Jeffrey becomes good friends with Jane and Batty but his relations with Skye remain frosty until he saves Batty's life. After this they develop a good-natured friendship, and they like to tease each other. They share a mutual interest in soccer. She considers their friendship to be of great value, and treasures a mug he gave her as a present. In turn, he seems to find comfort in her, she being the only one who could calm him down when he runs away after discovering his father's identity. They admit to each other that they wish that they live closer together, as they miss each other sometimes. She appears to be jealous of the time his cousins get to spend with him, and asks how far apart they live and if they play soccer. In the third book, he asks her, in a philosophical moment, if she thinks they will ever get married. She jokingly asks if he is alright. Five years later, their friendship has turned romantically one-sided. Jeffrey falls desperately in love with her, and although at times Skye seems to return romantic feelings, she does not feel the same. She tells him that she has no time for relationships--as college and her future career come first for her. Dusek- Dusek is Skye’s boyfriend for many years, and when Rosalind plans her wedding with Tommy, they decide to make it a double wedding. Friendships Melissa - Melissa is one of Skye's classmates and formerly her archenemy. The two did not get along, Skye finding Melissa insufferable and Melissa being jealous of Skye. This was furthered by the fact that they both captain rival soccer teams. In the end they made peace with each other, and became friends.